STAYING HYDRATED AND HEALTHY IN THE HOTTER MONTHS
Staying hydrated in the summer months is critical to the overall health and well being of your body. Recent studies suggest that staying consistently hydrated may help your heart function more healthily for longer, reducing the risks of heart attack and strokes, but in the warm weather months it’s all too easy to let those hydration levels slide.
We’re here to help, with the tips you need to stay hydrated and heart healthy this summer and for many months and years to come.
Eat Your Liquids
One of the easiest ways to set and maintain hydration levels is by reducing salty, dehydrating foods like junk foods and packaged snacks. Instead, stock up on foods that keep you hydrated like fresh fruits and vegetables. For example you could consider swapping the afternoon bag of potato chips for freshly sliced cucumbers, watermelon, or even celery for a hydration boosting, heart healthy alternative. Incorporating just one more fresh fruit and veggie into every meal offers serious health and hydration benefits.
Make Hydration Fun
Sipping water throughout the day can get boring if you’re not in the habit of practicing good hydration. Turning to healthy drinks in the summer to keep hydration levels high is tasty, fresh, and even fun! Make your own flavored water at home using flavored water recipes, infusing water with fresh herbs, citrus and other fruit, or even veggies like sliced cucumber. Having something fresh, tasty, and sippable on hand makes staying hydrated easier than ever before.
Avoid Hydration Sapping Liquids
The most basic rule for staying hydrated in the summertime you might be ignoring? No sugary drinks. While that can of soda might feel refreshing, sugar can actually lead to dehydration if consumed at a higher volume. Instead, opt for hydration multipliers to flavor your water, like electrolyte powders, which use sodium and glucose to maximize your water uptake.
Wear Compression Socks
Hydration is a huge aspect of cardio wellness. If you want to have an even heart healthier summer, try wearing compression socks consistently throughout the warmer months. Helping blood circulate more effectively throughout the body, compression socks help support your capillaries, working excess fluid out of your systems, improving heart health and lymphatic drainage. Simply popping on a stylish pair of Wellow socks in the morning can help keep your heart pumping and your blood flowing throughout the day.
Practice Summertime-Self Care
Last but not least, remember that all these strategies should be part of an overall pattern of summer self care. It’s easy to overexert yourself in the summer, spending too much time in the sunshine, going out late after a long work day to take advantage of those long, lingering summer nights, and sweating it out in the sun in the name of FOMO when you really should get back inside.
Give yourself a break this summer. Be kind to your body and mind, and remember to sip as many clear liquids as you can manage! We promise you’ll feel better, happier, and healthier through even the hottest dog days of summer.
